How to Survive the Fierce Competition of Legal Search Terms

If you’re an attorney, your keyword competition is brutal. (Keywords
are the words and phrases that people enter into search engines when they’re
looking for information on the Internet.) To give you some perspective,
SEMrush found that 8 of the top 10 most expensive keywords in Google (for Google
AdWords) included the word “attorney” or “lawyer,”
and 78% of the top 100 most expensive are legal-related. Meanwhile,
WordStream found that “lawyer” was the most expensive keyword for Bing
ads, with “attorney” taking second place and “DUI”
taking fourth. And the competition is especially fierce if you are targeting
a large metropolitan region, such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, or New
York City.

If you’re looking for keywords that can differentiate your law firm
and give you a better chance of getting found online (and at a lower cost
if you’re running pay-per-click ads), you may want to try implementing
long-tail keywords into your search strategy. These are longer, more detailed
terms that help you target a more specific audience.

For example, instead of just using “San Diego DUI attorney,”
you can focus on long-tail keywords such as the following:

arrested for drunk driving in San Diego

failed breath test in San Diego

the best DUI defense lawyer in San Diego

Long-tail keywords tend to be a closer match to the specific inquiries
and needs people actually have when they are searching for certain types
of services, products, information, etc. These types of keywords may cater
to smaller crowds, but they tend to come with
less competition and more qualified leads—people who are looking for the exact types of legal services that
you offer, as well as people who are closer to the point of conversion
(the point of actually calling your firm and setting up a consultation).
While long-tail keywords in themselves are terms that are less commonly
searched, they are a huge part of search behavior overall. According to
SEOmoz,
long-tail keywords make up about 70% of all search traffic.

How to Start Using Long-Tail keywords in Your SEO & SEM Strategy

While you should still make an effort to rank for the shorter, broader
“head” keywords that best represent your overall practice,
it’s also smart to diversify your search engine optimization (SEO)
and your search engine marketing (SEM) strategies with long-tail keywords.
You can start by performing keyword research, such as by using Google
Analytics to see what types of long-tail keywords are already driving
traffic to your site. You can also use keyword planning and trends tools
(such as those provided by Google and Bing) for ideas for additional long-tail
keywords that might be a good fit for your legal practice.

Once you know which long-tail keywords you want to use, you can start producing
online content related to these terms, such as in website pages and blog
posts. For example, you can create a page on your site that covers the
different types of field sobriety tests and their requirements and then
incorporate the long-tail keyword “field sobriety test lawyer in
Los Angeles” or “failed field sobriety test in Los Angeles.”
This not only gives you more visibility online, but it also helps you
provide your users with relevant information that they can actually use,
which can potentially help boost your SEO rankings.

Long-tail keywords can also be highly beneficial for pay-per-click (PPC)
because they usually come with lower cost per click (CPC). By using the
right long-tail keywords in your ad campaigns, you can get top rankings
in search engines and clicks from valuable leads without having to break the bank!

Need help with your law firm’s keyword strategy? Our legal marketing
experts at Scorpion can help. We use the most up-to-date SEO and SEM strategies
to get our clients more online exposure, more qualified leads, and more cases.
Call Scorpion today!

Download our free guide, Online Marketing 101 for Lawyers, to learn more
about how to get cases from the Internet.

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About the Author

Nicolas Gomez is the Senior Vice President of Sales at Scorpion. He helps law firms generate more business and increase their revenue through customized online marketing strategies, including strategies that incorporate website development and search engine advertising. Nicolas has more than 15 years of marketing, technical, and industry experience. During his personal time, Nicolas enjoys exercising, playing golf, playing in poker tournaments, and traveling.